Orthopaedic patients’ perceptions about
\ntheir pre-operative information

Abstract

A non-experimental, descriptive and quantitative survey was conducted to explore
\northopaedic patients’ perceptions about the pre-operative information received when
\nundergoing elective surgery in two hospitals in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The
\nfindings indicate that most patients perceived the pre-operative information to be
\nuseful in their preparation for surgery. Aspects that were not addressed during preoperative
\ninformation sessions included post-operative nutrition, pain medication,
\nambulation, deep breathing and coughing exercises. The recommendations include
\nthat all these aspects should be addressed in future pre-operative education sessions.
\nFurther research should be conducted for enhancing the pre-operative information
\nprovided to patients scheduled to undergo elective orthopaedic surgery.